Rejuvenating the Platform Game

Published August 12, 2008

At A Glance

• We preview Number None Inc.'s brilliant, time-warping puzzle-platformer Braid, and offer up a few tips.

 

Some monstrous and anonymous villain has absconded with your lady love, a princess, and he/she/it is holding your precious captive in a remote castle. Much of your quest to free her will involve leaping to and from ledges, bopping enemies on the head, and even straddling flagpoles at the end of each level. Sound familiar? Not so fast.

Get your mind right. Braid will test you.

While developer Number None Inc. pays obvious homage to the genre's genesis with Braid—even going so far as to name a level Jumpman—its similarities remain on the surface, while its time-warping innovation is nothing short of radical.

Painted Beauty

The throwback sprite-like main character and enemies aside, the whole of the game shines forth with hand-painted backgrounds that come to life through swirling colors and gentle, pulsing light. There is as much art here as level design.

If you're starved for a title that wields originality
from start to finish, Braid is your game.

Puzzles Indeed

Your goal in each world is to obtain every puzzle piece, and then piece them together once you're back in the "real" world. Finding the correct path and sequence of actions to obtain these puzzle pieces is where Braid really shines.

Here's just one relatively simple example. Between you and a puzzle piece on a nearby platform is nothing but a few floating clouds. While they're thick enough to stand on, they're placed too unevenly to make the trip to the platform across the way. Trigger your Rewind ability though, and you'll notice that certain clouds travel faster while Rewind is activated, allowing you to space the clouds evenly apart, and hop your way safely to the puzzle piece.

Be Kind, Rewind

From the very beginning you're offered a limitless ability to Rewind, and while it's useful for swiftly correcting mistimed jumps, its true purpose is in manipulating the world around you to solve puzzles.

It's like playing a painting.

Whether you're using Rewind to manipulate an enemy's progress so you can leap on their head and reach a lofty platform, or you're twisting time so that two fireball-breathing cannons neutralize one another, you must constantly tweak your surroundings to solve the game's mind-bending puzzles.

Each level shakes things up with a twist of its own. For example, in World 4, each enemy moves in relation to your own actions. Remain still and so will your enemies. Move, and they'll move toward or away from you at a speed equal to your own, forcing you to think well outside the box just to navigate the world, let alone find that one path to the puzzle pieces.

Perhaps most importantly, every challenge that awaits you is powered by undeniable logic. There are no cheap tricks or randomness to the puzzles. When you finally grasp hold of a puzzle piece, you'll be more likely to think, "Oh, I should have seen that before," than toss your controller in frustration.

What!? She's not here, either?

A Helping Hand

To developer Number None Inc.'s mind, there should be no strategy guide for Braid, no walkthrough to lend a helping hand, and for good reason. The joy of the game is unearthed only through self-discovery as you bring your own wits to bear on the game's various challenges. Let that be your first tip then. Triumph on your own terms.

All that being said, understanding the game's mechanics and at least a little of its unique logic is worthwhile. In the interest of keeping in the spirit of the game, I'll cite no specific examples, but keep the following in mind:

• x8: Your Rewind ability is limitless, but you can also boost the speed of Rewind by up to eight times. When holding X, tap LB to multiply the speed of your Rewind. You'll need this ability often when setting up access to a puzzle piece.
  
• Double bounce: If you bounce once on an enemy's head you'll be flung high in the air, but if you can execute an immediate second bounce on another nearby enemy, you'll gain even greater air time.
  
• Green immunity: Objects that glow green are immune to the Rewind ability, so while everything else scurries backwards in time, these objects and enemies march on unhindered.
  
• Scout ahead: If you're having trouble unraveling a puzzle's mystery, there may very well be an answer further on in the level. If you're stumped, scout ahead.

Rewind and try again.

• Level logic: From the "you move, they move" mechanic of World 4, to the multidimensional shadow-self copycat in World 5, each world has its own unique twist. Every puzzle piece will require manipulating the level-specific mechanic, so make mastering that your first priority.
  
• Start again: Some levels require instant recognition to succeed, so if you find yourself swiftly flummoxed, try exiting, then re-entering the door at the beginning of the section, and pay attention to any enemy or object that moves.

From the very beginning, Braid shines with clever design, brilliant puzzles, and some of the most breathtaking visuals to be found anywhere on Xbox LIVE® Arcade. If you're starved for a title that wields originality from start to finish, Braid is your game.

Article by Ryan Treit